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The wide screen TV was showing a movie. “I'll turn him into a flea, a harmless little flea! And then, I'll put that flea in a box. And then I'll put that box inside another box, and then mail that box to myself. And when it arrives... AH HA HA HA HA, I'LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!!! IT'S BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, I TELL YOU!!! GENIUS, I SAY!!! …Or, to save on postage, I'll just poison him with this! “

The girl sitting in the red couch across from the TV chuckled at the sequence. On the back of the couch, a leafy paw patted at the girl’s wavy brown hair. She looked up to see the small Pokémon’s face looking back at her, so she picked up the Cottonnee and brought her down to her lap. “Hey squirt. What do you think of the name Yzma for a Purrloin?”

In response, the Cottonnee made a face, scrunching up her nose. “Tssillfiss,” she rattled, sounding like the wind through leaves.

She patted the Pokémon. “Well, I guess I should see what the Purrloin is like before naming it after a villainess. Oh, but I’m gonna miss you.” She hugged the Cottonnee. “Too bad I can’t take you along, but that’s the League rules.”

The Pokémon cooed sadly and nuzzled against her, stirring up some of her herbal scent. According to the rules, when a Trainer registered with the League, he or she could only have one Pokémon to start with. And since she was getting a gift Pokémon from Professor Juniper, she had to turn over her pet to her mother. Of course, there was always talk that one could register with just one, and then receive all the other Pokémon back as ‘gifts’. But this Cottonnee had been a house pet for years, so it likely wouldn’t make for a good battle Pokémon.

“Hilda, looks like Mary’s coming,” her mother said from the kitchen.

That was the professor! Hilda got off the couch, still holding onto her Cottonnee. “Great! Do you want to talk with her too?”

Her mother came into the living room, dressed in old house clothes. “If she has some time, of course. Did you get your room cleaned?”

Nodding, she replied, “Yes, and I watered the houseplants and the herb garden, and took care of my other chores.” It wouldn’t be long before she was free of all that work, able to go wherever she wanted.

“Good,” she said with a smile. “It won’t be long until you’re busy taking care of yourself and your Pokémon. This is wonderful; I’m so glad that you have this opportunity to start off with an official Professor’s backing.”

“Miss Juniper’s cool about that.” She patted the Cottonnee again. “And don’t you worry, Fluff dear. You get to stay with Mom and be pudgy from her cooking.”

The Cottonnee Fluff shook her leaves, amused at that. “Ththillill.”

“Yes, you’re going to be just fine,” she said, taking the Pokémon from her daughter. “I’m sure we can raise enough noise to make up for Hilda’s absence.”

The girl and the Pokémon laughed. “Oh, good luck with that! You’ll need a much louder Pokémon.”

When the doorbell rang, Hilda quickly went over to answer it while her mother turned off the TV. The local Pokémon Professor was there, wearing a thin white lab coat as usual (although over a closely-fitted blouse and a dark blue short skirt). “Good evening Leslie, Hilda!” she said cheerily, smiling wide. “Did you get a hold of your friends?”

Hilda nodded. “Of course. They should be over soon.”

“Would you like to come in for a little while and talk with them?” Leslie offered.

Mary Juniper shook her head. “Oh no, not tonight. I have to be working on a paper to meet a journal’s deadline. I don’t want to delay the kids from starting out, though, so I called once I got everything together.” She then brought a digital storage device out of her purse, a dense machine encased in tan plastic. “And a one, two, presto!”

After she tapped in a couple of commands, a pink beam of light shot out from the DSD, leaving a box on the doorstep between the three of them. It was done up prettily, in blue wrap and a wide red ribbon. A lacy blue envelope sat just under one of the ribbons on top. Certainly, that gift box would not have fit in her purse, which hung lightly under her left arm.

“Digitalized storage is one of the best inventions around,” Juniper said, tucking the DSD back into her purse. “I hope you have a large capacity DSD to take with you; Pokémon care requires a lot of things.”

“I do,” Hilda said, picking up the box with both hands. It was as wide as her chest, but lighter than it looked. Nothing rattled inside, though.

Juniper then touched her shoulder. “Oh, but you look different today dear. Did you buy some new clothes?”

Glancing at her new t-shirt and knee-length jean shorts, she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Mom suggested that I get rid of my old wardrobe and get something more suitable for travel. It’s not really trendy anymore, but hey.”

The two women giggled. “Oh, heavens forbid that a fifteen-year-old girl be made to switch to a practical wardrobe,” the Professor teased. “But it looks nice and if the rest is like that, then you should be just fine on the road. Read my note to the others before you open it and be sure to spend one more night at home to get to know your new little partner. And you set out tomorrow; I’ll see you then. Now I have to get back to the writing. I’ll see you both later.”

“Don’t be working too late, Mary,” Leslie said, waving as the Professor started away.

“See you later!” Hilda called, starting to bring the box in.

But then a boy came running up the dirt pathway up to their house. “Good evening, Professor Juniper!” he called out, hurrying to get there.

She waved. “Good evening, Cheren,” she called back. “I’m sorry, but we’ll be talking more tomorrow. Hilda’s got the Pokémon. Have a good night, all of you!” She then hurried off north to her own place.

As it was a warm autumn evening, Cheren was dressed in lightweight dark jeans and a short sleeved black t-shirt. “Hi Leslie, Hilda,” he said, his eyes drawn towards the large box.

“Hi again Cheren,” Leslie said, holding the door open while Hilda went inside. “Come on in; Bianca isn’t here yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long.”

“Yeah,” he said, stepping into the house. “I would have been here sooner if my Dad wasn’t hounding me with advice.” He shook his head. “I’ve read all that stuff dozens of times before in Trainer’s guidebooks and magazines. Hey Fluff.”

“Thossutthhh,” the Cottonnee said from Leslie’s arm, greeting the boy with a leaf wave.

“Let’s go up to my room,” Hilda offered, heading for the stairs. “I’ll be back down for my drink in a moment.”

A couple of minutes later, he came up with a platter with three glasses, three small bowls, a pitcher of lemonade, some slices of banana bread, and some Pokémon treats. “Oh right, it be nice to share with our new Pokémon,” Hilda said, having set the gift box on top of a low bookshelf. “You can put it on that table there.”

He nodded and put it on her bedside table. “You’ve cleared your room out, huh?” he asked.

Of course she had. The bookshelf had some books left in it, but it had formerly been packed with stuff. The walls were bare as she’d taken down all her posters. In her closet, there was a bag of her old clothes that were going to be donated while only a few hangers were left on the rod. And only a pair of her plushies remained.

“Yeah,” Hilda said, sitting on her bed. The purple blanket and pale green walls remained, but they’d probably stay for her Mom to use as a guest room. “We’re going to be away for a long time, and a lot of it was kid stuff. I might even decide to move elsewhere if I can, once I’m old enough for that.”

He nodded. “Right, we’re not kids anymore. I got rid of a lot of things too.” He put his hands in his jean pockets and paced for a bit. “I hope Bianca hasn’t spaced out. She did say she was coming right over?”

She laughed. “Oh, be patient. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” Although to tell the truth, excitement was running through her veins too. Her first Pokémon as a League Trainer, as well as those of her two best friends, were in that box. And it was just sitting there, with a closed lid, tempting them to open it right away.

Then, light steps hurried up the stairs and down the hall to Hilda’s room. A blond girl wearing a green beret came into the room. “I hope you weren’t waiting on me too long,” Bianca said, smiling. “My pet Lillipup was worrying over me; he doesn’t want to see me go.”

“Right!” Hilda said, bounding back onto her feet to get to the box. “Professor Juniper said to read the note first.”

She picked up the lacy blue envelope. For a moment, she was tempted to open it slowly and tease her friends with it. But it would torment her just as much, so she quickly ran her finger under the seal, then pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

‘To Hilda, Bianca, and Cheren: Thank you so much for all the help you’ve given me over the past few years. You three have stuck around much longer than other volunteer assistants have (at least from what I hear from my father!). As such, I have decided to make you three official student field researchers and give you what you need to start on the Unova Pokémon League. I’m sure you three will get along marvelously with Pokémon.

‘Within this box are three special Pokémon. They are natives to Unova, but extremely rare and hard to find, so I want an extended study done on them. Keep them with you, along with a journal to record things that happen, and that will do the trick. I’m sure they will be very useful. Please distribute them fairly amongst yourselves.

‘Also in this box are the registration forms you need to fill out to become official League participants: the League application form, the request for an advanced Trainer’s ID, and the Minor Trainer’s Self-Study Application (along with its online courses booklet). You will need to have these all filled out and approved before you reach the first Gym, but if you do so tonight, there shouldn’t be an issue. I know it’s a lot of paperwork, but the advantages are worth a few minutes of form filling.

‘Tomorrow morning, you should come by my lab to receive your field researcher equipment. After that, you can head off on your very own journey! -Best wishes, Mary Juniper.’

“Oo, field researchers,” Bianca said as Hilda lifted the lid off the box. “How exciting!”

Cheren stepped forward. “So are they the ones we thought?”

Inside the box, Hilda saw three plain Pokeballs sitting in a felt lined holder. There were labels placed under each slot with the names of three Pokémon species. She grinned. “Yup, it’s them!”

She pulled the three Pokeballs out, two in one hand, and the third in the other. “Well, there’s not much of a choice to make, is there?”

“What do you mean?” the other girl asked, puzzled.

Hilda passed a Pokeball to her. “Well, Bianca wanted Oshawott, so she should get it. And Cheren wanted Tepig, so he should get that one,” she handed the other ball to him. “And I wanted Snivy, so it all works out, no arguments about it. Right?”

Cheren smiled. “Of course not. I always knew I wanted a Tepig, after I read up on what little there is.” He turned the ball around, examining it.

On the other hand, Bianca squealed. “Yay, that’s perfect! I got an osha osha Oshawott!” She soon found the release button and hit it. A red beam of light spilled out, depositing the Pokémon in the middle of the room.

A white and blue otter appeared, quickly turning around to see who was there. On noticing the three of them, it looked puzzled, taking the yellow scallop shell off its belly and holding it in both paws under its chin. “Whuuu?” it asked softly.

The blond girl checked the status screen of the Pokeball, then came over. “It’s okay, girl, I’m your new Trainer, Bianca. And these are my best friends, Cheren and Hilda.” She picked it up and turned to them. “Say hi to them.”

The Oshawott released one paw from the shell to give a small wave, but then backed into Bianca’s arms.

“We could have done introductions when they were all out,” Cheren said, releasing his Pokémon. He aimed the release beam to appear right near him.

At his ankles, a black and red pig Pokémon appeared, its hooves small and its ears close together due to coming out of a red orb on its head. The Tepig held itself high on all fours and sniffed with its snout. It seemed pleased to be out and smiled up at Cheren.

“He seems to be quite promising,” he said, kneeling down to pet his Pokémon.

“Better call mine out then,” Hilda said, pressed the release button on hers. She aimed it to come out near her too; being used to using her old Cottonnee’s Pokeball, the resistance seemed stiff.

However, no Snivy came from the release beam. Instead, a strange marbled gray rock appeared, floating a foot off the ground. It was about eight inches wide and had a pocked but mostly smooth surface. After a moment, it floated up to three feet off the ground.

“What is that?” Bianca asked, staring at it with her Oshawott. “That’s not a Pokémon, it’s a, a, a bowling ball.”

“Some Pokémon look like strange things,” Cheren said, getting up. The Tepig took a few steps closer, trying to sniff it out. “But, I can’t recall seeing anything like that before.”

“Huh.” The Oshawott was shivering, so Bianca patted her. “What’s that stand for?”

No one called out the obvious, so Cheren said, “Still, it doesn’t look like an egg. Remember when the professor had us watch a few eggs while she went to get some equipment? They didn’t look like rocks, and they certainly didn’t float like that.”

Hilda put one hand around the so-called egg and brought it closer. It felt cold, but from within instead of without. “Right. We’ll have to ask the Professor. But, she said she’s busy tonight. It’ll have to wait until morning.” She clasped it in both hands, wondering if she could feel the life within it. “Or maybe it’ll hatch tonight. Who knows?”

-+-

The grass shifted, rustling against green scales. Not loud; much more noise would be unacceptable. A trio of tail leaves curled up to more closely resembled blades of grass. A pointed snout lifted into the air every now and then, flicking out a black tongue to taste the surroundings. If anyone came close, the Pokémon could go still and remain perfectly hidden. That is, so long as nobody stepped in the wrong place.

It had been a strange deal that had given this freedom, this choice. But before the choice was made, there was something desired. It sat propped against a travel bag, next to a young human with a white cap on. The human was looking at a computer device, not watching his things.

Excellent. The hiding Pokémon slithered closer, and closer. Nine feet… six feet… three feet… now! Snatch the item and bolt for the taller grasses.

In a moment, the human was chasing after. “Stop! Stop you thieving… Pokémon… pant…”

Escape was at hand; victory was claimed.

-+-

Since Hilda’s Pokeball didn’t seem to contain a Pokémon yet, the three friends played with Bianca’s and Cheren’s Pokémon instead. The two were like complete opposites. Where Tepig was brave, bold, and proud, Oshawott was shy, skittish, and timid. But that worked out just right. Bianca seemed pleased to have a Pokémon to care for, while Cheren was glad to have a confidant partner.

As for Hilda, she didn’t know what to think.

She lay on her bed that night, observing the floating egg. Or stone, although it really was like a bowling ball without the finger holds. The lights in her room were out, but a streetlight shone into her window. In that light, the egg seemed to glisten, like a highly polished rock. It was eerie in that way.

When would it hatch? That caused some problems, as Pokémon eggs were said to only hatch when looked after by healthy Pokémon. Her friends had offered to help her catch something to start with, but then they’d be dealing with the limited population around Nuvema. Or perhaps she could take her Cottonee after all. One couldn’t register for the League with just an egg, after all.

She had already filled out the forms, save for information on her starting Pokémon. She still wanted to start with the other two tomorrow, although her official acceptance might come later. What would hatch from this egg? And what Pokémon was she going to be starting with? In a way, it would be an awesome statement to fight through the ranks with a common Pokémon.

Hilda fell asleep.

That night was filled with many strange dreams, but they all followed the same patterns. A boy with icy blue eyes would speak to her, asking her questions or ordering her to do things. But, it definitely wasn’t Cheren; this boy had no glasses. In the way of dreams, a lot of it didn’t make sense because she kept forgetting things.

But one exchange stuck with Hilda. “Would you rather have a world of truth or a world of ideals?” the boy asked.

On considering it, she said, “Well shouldn’t the truth be ideal? And it would be really great if the ideal were the truth. And can you really have one without the other? Although it is tough to have both. Or either of them, really. People can lie, and they don’t often behave in an ideal manner. So,” she grinned, “you ought to try reaching for both, to show them how it’s done.”

The boy gave her a long hard look at this answer, then said, “But if you were forced to choose one or the other, which would you take?”

“If I were forced to, then I’d look the person forcing me straight in the eyes and say, ‘Hey, what’s with all the seriousness? Lighten up and enjoy life! Things aren’t black and white.’ Or I might get mad at them for trying to force a question they clearly don’t intend to think about.”

“Would you seriously?” the boy asked.

When Hilda woke up, she didn’t remember what she had answered to that last question.

-+-

morning, 11/11

It was a beautiful fall morning. The leaves still on the trees were bright with color and there was a perfect blue sky above. Although the wind was starting to take on cold tones, it was nothing a good jacket couldn’t remedy. And on that beautiful morning, Hilda found herself faced off against a large man with a noticeable gut. He was a good guy most of the time, but he was irritatingly stubborn on certain issues.

“Bianca is not leaving with you two on some crazy journey,” he said gruffly. “Which you two shouldn’t even be considering. It’s much too dangerous out there. You could get hurt badly out there, and there’s all kinds of bad people in the cities. You’ll live a much happier and safer life if you just stay here in Nuvema.”

“We have our Pokémon with us,” Hilda pointed out to her friend’s father. He didn’t have to know that she had gotten some bowling ball thing which had still been a bowling ball thing when she woke up. “Besides, we’re all fifteen. We’ll be all right.”

“That’s still not enough. Now go on back home and take care of your mother.”

Cross about his over-protectiveness, she left without a goodbye, heading towards her own house. But Hilda stopped by a tree and hid behind it. This wasn’t the first time Bianca’s dad had been ridiculous about something. She remembered when they were seven and her friend had come over for her first sleepover. After having him call about eight times that evening, Leslie had slyly unhooked the phone so the girls could have some play and talk time uninterrupted. That had brought him storming to their front door twenty minutes later to make sure everything was all right.

The next person to come by, thankfully, was Cheren. He looked irritated too, although his Tepig was eagerly sniffing around, enjoying the weather. “Oh, hey Hilda,” he said.

“Shh!” she replied, putting a finger to her lips. “Bianca’s dad is trying to keep her from leaving.”

“At this time? But she and I have our Pokémon and everything.” He stopped by the tree and gave a hand signal to Tepig to stay nearby. The red pig twitched his ears and looked to them curiously.

Hilda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but you know him. He thinks walking along the fence by the shoreline is dangerous.”

That caused a momentary smile. “Well that’s because you insist on walking on top of the fence.”

“More fun that way. So what’s up with you? Your folks badgering you again?”

Cheren sighed. “Of course they did. They keep treating me like some ten-year-old who’s never worked with Pokémon before. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’m not that ignorant. And this is supposed to be a great day when we start our journey. It shouldn’t start out lousy.” He paused, then looked to Bianca’s house. “So how’re we going to draw off the old man?”

At that question, Hilda got that look on her face. The wide grin and excited eyes that said she was considering something bizarre. “First, we need to get a ladder, one that can reach onto their rooftop. We climb up the ladder, bringing with us a bunch of sunflower seeds. Then, we dump the seeds on top of him. Pidoves will smell the seeds and come flocking like mad to get some.”

“And then we bring Bianca out the back door while her dad is distracted?” Cheren asked.

She shook her head. “No, that’s only the start. Because a mass flock of Pidoves like that is certain to attract Purrloins, who will rush in and add to the chaos. And that’ll attract the attention of the Lillipups, and you know how they get when they see a Purrloin. Then we open up the window to Bianca’s room, help her climb out with her stuff, and then go back down the ladder and race for the lab before anyone notices.”

After a brief chuckle, he teasingly asked, “Well then why don’t we just go up on the ladder and let Bianca out the window in the first place? Much simpler.”

Hilda stuck her tongue out at him. “And give up a chance to hassle her dad? No way.” She looked back towards the back door. “Or, we could just go over to where Bianca and her mom are right now.” She left the cover of the tree and walked up to the two of them. Cheren soon followed.

Bianca seemed nervous as she came out. When she saw them, her eyes went wide and she quickly made a gesture to keep quiet. Hilda just smiled and waved. Her friend’s mother glanced in the house, then smiled to them. “You’d better hurry on over to Mary’s lab,” she said. “She’s expecting you. And don’t worry about Peter; I’ll talk with him later.”

“Thanks Mom,” Bianca said quietly, hugging her. “Goodbye.”

“Good luck with your mission,” Hilda said teasingly. Talking Peter out of anything was a difficult task.

“We’ll all be fine,” Cheren said, nodding to her.

“Good luck to all of you,” Bianca’s mother said, then shut the door softly.

After Bianca called out her Oshawott, the three friends headed north along the path to Professor Juniper’s lab. “This has me all nervous,” Bianca said, smiling weakly. “Once we leave here, there’ll be so many things we can do. I don’t know what to start with.”

“Well you can start with your Pokémon,” Hilda replied. “Are you gonna give Oshawott a nickname?”

That made her happier. “Of course! I thought about it last night and I felt like she should be Suzy. Right sweetie?”

Suzy the Oshawott murmured, “Shawa,” and edged closer to Bianca. She took hold of the hem of her skirt and kept up easily.

“We’re gonna be okay,” Bianca said reassuringly. “I’m afraid Dad gave her a fright this morning. Me too; I didn’t think he’d forbid me to leave the house, much less town.”

Hilda laughed. “His attitude seems like it should belong to a bigger Pokémon.”

At the edge of town, they came upon a building that was larger than the houses that made up most of Nuvema Town. From the outside, Juniper’s lab and home more closely resembled the latter than the former. It was a wooden structure like the others, and window boxes were overflowing with flowers. But there was a sign outside of the building stating that it was indeed a Pokémon lab. Being familiar with the place, the three friends went on inside.

Inside, there was a living space that appeared quite humble, with simpler furnishings than their own homes. Pictures of various Pokémon decorated the walls. But straight from the entrance, a visitor could also see the advanced and expensive equipment of a Pokémon lab: examination chambers, extra processors for the computer, and a large cabinet that was kept locked most of the time. Mary Juniper was back in the lab space, working at a computer with a pen behind her ear and sunglasses on top of her head.

She did stop on hearing the door open, looking over to them. “Oh, hey there,” she said. “Give me a sec to save this, but come on back.” She did so, then closed the document and shut down the computer.

“Good morning Professor,” Bianca said as they came back to the lab. “Still working on your paper?”

Juniper got up from her chair to speak with them. “No, I got that finished just in time. But there’s always another paper to write.” She laughed. “Well, welcome to my lab. I’m Professor Juniper…”

Cheren rolled his eyes. “Professor, we’ve worked with you for almost five years now.”

“Oh, come on,” Juniper said playfully. “This is a momentous occasion for you; we ought to formal for once, just for the occasion. So then…” she put on a much too serious face that made Hilda and Bianca giggle. Cheren did crack a smile. “I’m Professor Juniper and I am researching the origins of Pokémon. But I’m sure you didn’t come today to hear a lecture. And your Pokémon,” she looked down at the Oshawott and Tepig.

Smoky twitched his ears and held himself high, looking right back at her. He was where he had been the whole morning, right at Cheren’s ankle. On the other hand, Suzy waved a paw at Juniper, but still clung to Bianca’s skirt.

“Yeah, there’s a problem with that we wanted to ask you about,” Hilda said, taking the Pokeball and pressing the release button. Again, the marbled gray orb appeared, floating by her. “This is all I’m getting.”

“Oh really?” Juniper came closer and touched it. But she seemed as bewildered as them. “It must have some power, as it’s so cold. I’ve never seen it before; I’m sure I gave you three a Snivy along with those two. May I see that Pokeball?”

The Professor read the status window, then went to get a reader for more detailed information. “It says you have an egg… but that’s not like any egg I’ve ever seen before.”

“Could it be a Pokeball error?” Cheren asked. “I’ve heard of problems before, but they usually do some horrific things.”

“It’s been years since there’s been a major Pokeball programming error,” Juniper said. “According to this data, everything is perfectly fine with this so-called egg. And it’s already registered to you. Hmm.” She considered it, then handed the ball back. “Well, hold onto it for now and see what comes. You will have to get another Pokémon for your starter, and to help hatch this egg. If I knew what happened to that Snivy, I’d give it to you, but I know I checked it before I put the box into digital storage.”

“We can help her catch something, right?” Bianca asked.

She nodded. “Certainly; I don’t think there would be a problem with the local Pokémon. You’re all right with this, right Hilda?”

“Sure, it’s fine,” she replied. “Besides, it might be pretty awesome to start with one of them and take it all the way to Victory Road and beyond.”

“Now that’s the spirit,” Juniper said cheerfully. “In fact, I was planning on giving you three some pointers on capturing Pokémon, so we can make getting Hilda a starter that lesson. But first, I said that I wanted to make you my field researchers. And for that, you need something special.” She went to a box on the table, then came back with three small devices. “Here you are, your very own Pokedexes.”

“Pokedexes?” Bianca asked, looking at her model. It was black with blue raindrops over the cover.

“Yeah, one of the best research devices out there,” Cheren said, accepted his black with red flames model. “It gathers lots of raw data on Pokémon and adds it to the Pokémon Encyclopedic Index. Plus, you can use the Pokedex to directly access the Index, which gives you lots of information on any Pokémon you see.”

“That’s right,” Juniper said, handing Hilda one that was black with coiled green ivy. “It will automatically add any Pokémon you encounter to your personal index, plus it will gain even more information with every kind Pokémon you catch or raise. And you three would be the first actual field researchers that have been in Unova too.”

“But the Pokedex has been around for several years now,” Cheren said. “Why hasn’t there been a researcher already?”

The Professor considered her answer for a moment. “For one thing, it’s in low production numbers, so be careful not to get it broken. For another, we look for certain qualities in field researchers; they have to be dedicated, hard-working, trustworthy, and able to travel freely. I’ve observed that all three of you are qualified. I would love to work on it myself, but I just don’t have the time to do Pokedex field research and carry on my own studies. So I hope you three can meet many Pokémon and fill out your Pokedex information.

“Although, I don’t think that should be the most important thing of your journey.” Juniper smiled, looking nostalgic for a moment. “Being out on your own and meeting new friends, both people and Pokémon, this is the perfect time to find out about yourself and what you really want. You’ll see things that amaze you and interest you, but there will also be things to challenge you, and different ways to see the world. Yes, this is the time to discover yourself, who you are and what you can be.”

Juniper laughed. “Okay, but I hope you remember that. Now, do you have your forms filled out? Except for you Hilda, about your starter.” When they all three nodded, she picked up a bag that was near her desk. “Great! When you reach Accumula Town, the Pokecenter will be right near the entrance. It’s a two story building with an orange room and a bright neon sign, so you can’t miss it. Talk to the nurse and see who to turn the forms in to. But let’s get out to Route 1, where we’ll discuss capturing Pokémon.”

“Right behind you,” Bianca said cheerily, following after with Suzy. Cheren and Smoky went too. After glancing at the floating orb, Hilda kept it out and left the lab. The icy gray orb followed right after.

-+-

Route 1 was a relatively short path between Nuvema and Accumula. Thick woods bordered the west side, while the wide Alma River flowed along the east side. Most days, it was windy and this one was no exception. Colored leaves drifted through the air while the plants were toughening up in preparation for winter dormancy. The tall grasses where wild Pokémon lurked were still lush and vibrant green, though.

“As I’m sure you know,” Professor Juniper said, ignoring the way her lab coat fluttered in the breeze, “wild Pokémon most often hide in grasses like these. You should never enter a patch of grass without a Pokémon of your own, or a Trainer who has them. So in order to catch them, you need to enter such patches.”

“That much is obvious,” Cheren said. He had a touch of annoyance to his eyes about having such obvious things explained.

Juniper held up a hand. “But it’s not quite that simple. You see, many Pokémon will appear to challenge you and make themselves stronger, but not all will want to be captured. If a Pokémon does not want to be captured, then it will resist and break the Pokeball. If it does so, then you had either look for another one of that kind, or attempt to convince it otherwise.”

“How do you do that?” Bianca asked. “I mean, the Pokémon don’t speak, so they can’t say what they want. You can’t understand a Pokémon until you’ve lived with it for a little while.”

She nodded. “Correct. When you read or hear about it, catching Pokémon seems easy, but those who’ve been around know that it’s not. If you startle the Pokémon, it will run away. Some can understand your words, while others cannot. You may be able to find out the information to decide what Pokémon to catch, but you will have to figure out on your own how to catch that one. And beware of one thing: the Pokeball registers the Pokémon’s original Trainer by the person who first touches it after the Pokémon is locked in. There are some unscrupulous characters that use this, and the fact that they are usually thrown, to snatch Pokeballs before the real owner gets them. Now, let’s go out and see if we can find what Pokémon to get Hilda for a starter.” Juniper then walked into the grassy patch at the start of Route 1, followed by the other three.

Cheren looked around, but said, “You have to battle the Pokémon you want to catch too. The Pokeball works better if the target is weaker, or under a status effect.”

“That doesn’t sound nice,” Bianca said. “I mean, if you want to be friends, shouldn’t you not hurt the Pokémon first?”

“Battling the Pokémon proves your ability to train, which the wild ones will be looking for,” Juniper explained. Then she pointed out to a puff of white fur sticking out over the grass. “That’s a Patrat; you see many of them around here. Sometimes there’s Pidoves and Purrlions, but not much. You’re more likely to find Lillipups.”

Right then, the other three also saw a flash of green in the grass. A Pokémon soon jumped up out of hiding and grinned at them. It was a green reptilian Pokémon with small limbs, but a large leafy tail. Not only that, but it wore a human-sized brown fedora with a wide brim and a frond from a fern attached to its side. It was comically large on the small Pokémon, threatening to slip over its eyes.

“That is an awesome hat!” Hilda declared, clapping her hands.

“Oh dear,” Professor Juniper said, but with an amused smile on her face. “That’s definitely the Snivy I was supposed to give you. Except he didn’t have the hat.” She aimed her Xtranciver at it, then checked the screen. “He’s no longer attached to a Pokeball? But that does mean you can catch him now.”

“We can weaken him,” Cheren suggested, snapping his fingers. His Tepig came to attention. “Smoky, time to fight. Tackle him.”

The pig Pokémon shook itself, then rushed for the Snivy. “Hey you, use Leer!” Hilda called out.

“Hilda,” her friend said sternly.

She laughed, but blushed. “Sorry, got caught up in the excitement.”

Whether it was because he decided to or because she said it, the Snivy did some hocus pocus with his eyes to get Smoky to lower his defenses. Unfortunately, that got him to sit still long enough for the Tepig to rush into him with his Tackle. The Snivy then jumped at Smoky and wrestled with him for a bit, losing his hat in the process.

“Leer will lower the defense of the target Pokémon,” Juniper said. “Tepig’s Tail Whip will do the same.”

Cheren nodded. “Yes, but for capturing purposes, you don’t want to knock the target unconscious.” Seeing both Pokémon separate, both with some scratches or bite marks on them, he said, “Smoky, tackle again and get back for a moment.”

“Oh yes, and you’ll need these,” the professor said, pulling five empty Pokeballs out of her bag and handing them to Hilda. “Since they’re empty, press the release button and throw the ball at the target Pokémon.” Smoky tackled the Snivy as ordered, then darted aside to get to a position closer to Cheren. “It will ignore any captive Pokémon, but you might accidentally catch a hidden Pokémon instead of the one you’re after, if you don’t aim your throw right.” She then brought out five more for Bianca, then five more for Cheren when he was done battling.

With a soft snort, the Snivy rushed through the grass and tackled the Tepig hard. Smoky squealed as he was thrown onto his side. Then the Grass type panted heavily, watching for what they would do next. Cheren took Smoky’s Pokeball. “Return,” he said, recalling the Tepig. He checked the status screen. “They’re both severely weakened now. You’d better give it a shot before he runs off.”

“Right,” she said, taking one of the empty Pokeballs in hand. “Hey Snivy, I like your attitude; why don’t you come with me?”

With the Tepig gone, he had retrieved his hat to put back on. He did look at her, but then the fedora fell over his face and made it hard to read his expression. But he did stay there.

Hilda touched the one Pokeball attached to her bag’s holder. “May as well do it for the show,” she said softly, then pointed towards the Snivy, “All right, go go bowling ball!”

Bianca chuckled, but then things got strange again. The stone emitted a bright flash of light; a mass rustling of grass came as the hidden Pokémon audience bolted from the patch of grass to the safety of the trees. While their eyes were still readjusting, the stone vanished, then appeared several feet ahead. Only, it was bigger than before, and growing rapidly. It started taking on a different form, then uncurling into a giant Pokémon. A minute later, there was a massive black dragon standing in the grass of Route 1, with an icy white face mask and long bluish-white wings. Then it made a near-deafening roar, causing the Snivy to turn pale, his tail leaves drooping.

Bianca put her hands up to her mouth. “Oh my gosh!”

“That can’t be…” Juniper said, her eyes wide too.

“What is it?” Hilda asked, feeling a chill run down her spine.

“Kyurem…” Cheren said. “But, why?”

Last edited by Ysavvryl; 23rd November 2012 at 4:08 PM.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Well, you've only posted the first chapter and I already feel this is going to be just as awesome as your other works. The reference to The Emperor's New Groove at the beginning was funny, and the whole fiasco with the "bowling ball" was pretty good, and I was surprised by the early inclusion of Kyurem. My favorite part of the story, though, was Hilda's dream and her conversation with the icy-eyed boy whose name certainly isn't made up solely of the fourteenth letter of the alphabet.

Snivy had better keep that fedora for the rest of the story, though. What's Hilda going to name him, Perry?

I'm not really sure how I ended up reading this. I don't really read fics anymore, or at least, not new ones. Hm. Well, I'm reading, I might as well review.

And I was instantly pleased to be met with one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies. xD And then I noticed that it was not word-for-word! For shame! (Of course, you may have simply done that on purpose...or maybe you just didn't feel the need to look it up because it doesn't really matter and I am silly for pointing this out. OKAY THEN.)

Anyway...

I think I have now realized something: I love reading about the Black and White protagonists. Granted, it's probably just a testament to the fact that 5th gen had way more compelling characters than previous ones, but I still felt it worth pointing out.

The verisimilitude was really nice. All the little bits and pieces about how the technology and registration and such worked realistically without having to info dump. And I loved the explanations about how to catch Pokemon. It's always nice to see fics that acknowledge that no, we trainers are not just plowing through the woods beating up innocent animals, no matter what the game mechanics might seem to imply. Obviously in a realistic world, wild Pokemon "appear" because they want to battle the trainer, and if they're caught in the process, well then the human is clearly strong enough to make them stronger.

Now then, I like your dialogue but the dialogue tags were confusing as all hell.

“Hilda, looks like Mary’s coming,” her mother said from the kitchen.

That was the professor! Hilda got off the couch, still holding onto her Cottonnee. “Great! Do you want to talk with her too?”

Her mother came into the living room, dressed in old house clothes. “If she has some time, of course. Did you get your room cleaned?”

Nodding, she replied, “Yes, and I watered the houseplants and the herb garden, and took care of my other chores.” It wouldn’t be long before she was free of all that work, able to go wherever she wanted.

“Good,” she said with a smile. “It won’t be long until you’re busy taking care of yourself and your Pokémon. This is wonderful; I’m so glad that you have this opportunity to start off with an official Professor’s backing.”

“Miss Juniper’s cool about that.” She patted the Cottonnee again. “And don’t you worry, Fluff dear. You get to stay with Mom and be pudgy from her cooking.”

The Cottonnee Fluff shook her leaves, amused at that. “Ththillill.”

“Yes, you’re going to be just fine,” she said, taking the Pokémon from her daughter. “I’m sure we can raise enough noise to make up for Hilda’s absence.”

HOLY WHAT ON A WHAT SANDWICH.

Kay, there are waaaayy too many pronouns. S/he should almost always be used to refer to the last individual of said gender whose name was mentioned (except in the same sentence). But if that's the case here, then Hilda is her mother, and her mother is Cottonnee.

Now, the dialogue is all between two people so it's assumed that the lines will go back and forth between them. However, with brief action markers in between, this gets ambiguous. (Though I really liked the use of sentences-in-which-person-does-something, because too many "S/he said/stated/replied/ect" dialogue tags in a row get really boring. People don't seem to realize that the word "said" is not inherently boring, but using the same dialogue tag structure repeatedly is.)

So after that tangent explaining why I like action marker sentences over dialogue tags, they do make it so that the back-and-forth implication of the dialogue is lost. This combined with the overuse of she made it so that I couldn't tell who was saying what right off the bat. Yes, if I read it intently, I could tell, but it should be more natural. The reader shouldn't have to think at all in order to piece it together. This was fairly prevalent during the fic, but this exchange was the best example. Don't be afraid to use the names more frequently. You can restructure sentences to avoid it if you feel like a scene is becoming name-saturated.

I've got to admit, the description of Kyurem confused me. Hair? Wut? Did he cut off Reshi's mane and use it as a wig??! Regardless, I'm very curious to see what his role in the fic will be.

~Chibi~

...I almost posted this with it reading "Did he cut off Reshi's wig and use it as a mane?"

Last edited by Chibi Pika; 11th July 2011 at 7:40 PM.

"Everyone wishes they could catch a Legendary, deep down, whether they’ll admit it or not.
If you knew you could use one to change the world, something you’d been dreaming about for years, are you telling me you wouldn’t take that chance?"----------------------------------------------------------------------July 15 Update: CHAPTER 25: “The Heart of a Rocket” POSTED!!!
Chapter 26 progress: 11/13 pages

Since Hilda’s Pokeball didn’t seem to contain a Pokémon yet, the three friends played with Bianca’s and Cheren’s Pokémon instead. The two were like complete opposites. Where Tepig was brave, bold, and proud, Oshawott was shy, skittish, and timid. But that worked out just right. Bianca seemed pleased to have a Pokémon to care for, while Cheren was glad to have a confidant partner.

The way you've spelled confidant here, it kind of means the same thing as partner, amusingly. You want "confident".

This one is definitely interesting, the prose is as wonderful as ever, and I'm interested to see how Hilda ended up with (what I assume to be) the God Stone.

... Snivy needs boots. That is all.

Originally Posted by scytherdude30
no no no you need an empoleon as your powerhouse da listen to me man I AM THE BOMB

Originally Posted by Zincspider

Yes, someone is getting 'killed'... HOORAY FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!....

Umm... I have mixed feelings about this. Perhaps it's just because it's the first chapter, but my first reaction is that it's a bit slow-paced. You can get away with slowing the pace down if you're trying to set an unfamiliar scene with unfamiliar characters, but the only character in this chapter that your average reader won't know anything about is Hilda, and the situation of receiving one's first Pokémon is very familiar to any Pokémon fan.

Having said that, your description and dialogue is solid. It was good enough for me to read through to the end of the chapter, at least (which I may not have done had the writing not been as strong). I especially liked the banter between Hilda and Cheren when they were talking about Bianca's father.

Maybe I'm being a bit pernickety, but the pedant in me is saying that if you're going to quote from something else, don't be inexact about it. Also, references to some unknown person called Amelia popped up twice. Who the heck is Amelia supposed to be?

The dream where Hilda was talking about her views on truth on ideals was probably my favourite bit. I just loved how she answered the super-serious question in a light-hearted way that also happened to make a heck of a lot of sense.

You're clearly a good writer - I'm just not sold on either your pacing or your general idea (it's not as ridiculous as I expected, but maybe the ridiculousness will kick in next chapter). But hey, it's only chapter one, and I could change my mind yet.

100% of information in signatures on this forum involving percentages is false. If you feel as cheated by this atrocity as I do, don't you dare copy this into your signature.
Hold on... if this percentage was correct at the time of print, that means the actual percentage of false information is less than 100% if this signature is included. Which means that... no! I've become a slave to the system!!

I see you started this at last then. and that you used Kyurem. what made your choice in the end, the prospect of it eating people, or just the slightly more belivability rather than using Arceus? anyway, PM list please.

After rereading the first chapter, I have one slight nitpick. In the games, Professor Juniper's first name is confirmed to be Aurea. Wasn't sure if you were aware of that, or if you just gave her a different name on purpose. I know you did some different things with names back in Loopholes, so I thought that perhaps you did this on purpose.

^^^
yeah, right. I can guarantee that you'll probably end up nitpicking something over the process of the story. and Professor Juniper's name is , but seeing the "pet" pokemon that you gave the main characters, I think that was probably intetional, right?

“Slow?” Cheren asked. “We sped up the first chapter in order to get Kyurem in. If they’re complaining about slow pacing now, I’m not sure they want to hear about the first Gym battle. And there’s sure to be more nitpicks around.”

Bianca nodded. “Oh sure. On another note, I think the ridiculousness of it is relative.”

“Of the readers or of the point of view character?” Hilda asked. “Cause I peeked at some of the notes for N and it was freaky! I thought he was the one who had been made under the Purity Sue trope. It makes me wonder why she was giggling about Hilbert.”

“You were supposed to be the massive Mary Sue here,” Cheren said. “But she wanted to see how far she could take that and make it bearable,” and prevented Bianca from mentioning that this was when Hilda was Amelia, “and that didn’t work. So the Mary Sue powers got split up and you ended up with the ultra-special starter of a man-eating legend.”

“I still get shiny Pokemon though!” she said happily, twirling around. “We should have coffee breaks before every chapter!”

Kyurem lowered his head, looking down at Snivy that was nearly ten times smaller than himself. Still injured from its battle with Smoky the Tepig, the Snivy was frozen in fright. This was only Route 1; there shouldn’t be a giant dragon on it! The actual Pokémon residents of the area watched scared from the trees. For them, it was bad enough when higher level Trainers came down here just to beat up on the weaker creatures.

In the meantime, Hilda checked the Pokeball status screen. It was now filled out, confirming that yes, she now owned a giant Pokémon called Kyurem. And it only had two moves. “It knows Icy Wind and Dragon Rage,” she said, breaking the shocked silence.

On hearing that, Cheren’s mind broke off of stunned amazement. “Icy Wind would probably KO the Snivy even at full health.”

“It’s only level one, and those three are level five,” she pointed out.

“It would still KO the Snivy,” Cheren said firmly.

“As would Dragon Rage,” Juniper added. “With fixed damage, it should KO anything native to this route and the next.”

Hilda then glanced at one of her empty Pokeballs. “Well then, let’s skip the attack. Snivy, are you with us?” She then pressed the release button and threw the ball at the Grass Pokémon.

On hearing that, the Snivy’s tail flipped back up. He glanced to her for a moment before the Pokeball’s energy absorbed him. The ball dropped into the grass and was lost to sight for a moment, although the shaking betrayed where it was. When that settled down and the Snivy did not reappear, Hilda ran up and fished out the ball. It showed that the Snivy had been captured.

“Got it!” she called out, holding out the ball triumphantly.

Juniper smiled a little. “Well yes, that is how you go about capturing a Pokémon. Good work, especially with talking to it first.” Then she turned serious and looked to the dragon. “But still, how did you end up with a Pokémon only known about in legends?”

Hilda came back over to them. “Well he was in the gift box. They saw me take it and call it out.”

“And I’m absolutely certain I had recalled the Snivy right before I put those Pokeballs in the box,” Juniper said.

A snort came from Kyurem right as he began to glow again. His form shrank down, but not back to the stone orb. Shifting to a more upright stance, the glowing form grew arms and lost its tail and wings. When the glow faded, there was a human boy standing there. Looking around the same age as the new Trainers, he wore black jeans and a loose black shirt. His hair was long and icy blue, going down to his waist in two parts. And he wore a face mask that was the same as his dragon form.

In fact, Hilda realized that it had been the boy who appeared in her dreams last night. He came up to them and said, “I made the switch, exchanging that Snivy for myself.”

“The original dragon of the heroes?” Cheren asked, puzzled. “I heard that Kyurem was the monster of Giant Chasm, an alien Pokémon that ate people and Pokémon.”

“Perhaps,” he said, exactly the same as before.

“So, which are you?” Hilda asked, wondering if she could get an answer out of him.

“That is unimportant,” he replied.

Bianca came up and looked at Kyurem, like she might touch him to see if he was really there. The transformed Pokémon didn’t flinch at her approach. “This is strange,” she said. “But if you’re here to help Hilda, you can’t be all bad.”

“Maybe a bit cold about it,” Juniper said. Then she put her hand on Hilda’s shoulder. “Well then, would you keep records on Kyurem too? Just in case he says something interesting.”

“Hmph.” She set the Pokeball back in its holder. “I just realized that I accidentally nicknamed him ‘bowling ball’.”

The other three just stared at her for a moment. Kyurem did not express disappointment, but he did say, “Yes, yes you did nickname me that.”

“There’s a Name Rater in Castelia City,” Professor Juniper said. “That person can help you change the nickname of most Pokémon you own. Although right now, you three are probably most interested in reaching Accumula Town, and the Striaton City after that. The first Gym you’ll reach is there. But my, barely a few minutes into your journey and already unexpected things have happened. Here’s to hoping that the rest of your adventures are just as exciting! I’ve got to get back to my work, but you can reach me from any Pokecenter computer to get your Pokedex rated or get advice. Have a good trip.”

The young woman smiled at them. “You’re welcome, my friends. I mean, field researchers! I’ll see you some time later.” She then headed back to Nuvema, leaving them to head the other way.

And there they were, finally free from their hometown. They were on their own, without parents to nag them, or chores to do, or the same old schedule to follow. That sense of freedom, it made everything of that moment seem brilliant: the many colored leaves of the autumn trees, the knee-high tough grass the Pokémon hid in, the distant calls of those Pokémon, the partly cloudy blue sky overhead, the rushing river by the roadside. While they had seen this scenery many times before, they were free and it made everything fresh and exciting again.

And what would the future hold for them? They all had Pokémon of their own, and not just the dull pet kind either. No, they were ready to take on the Pokémon League, and thus worlds of possibilities lay ahead! They could accomplish anything if they just set their minds to it. This was a dream come true, and yet only the beginning of a journey that dreams were made of. And who knew what they would say years later, looking back at this moment where it all began?

Bianca put her hand to her chin. “So, um, what do we do now?”

“We prepare to make history!” Hilda shouted, making a grand gesture with her arm (and nearly smacking Cheren in the forehead doing so; fortunately, he habitually ducked when she started talking like that). “We can do anything now that we’re in charge of our own destinies.”

The other girl smiled. “That is exciting… but what do we do now?”

“Oh, well…” she put her hands on her hips. “Good question.”

“We should head to Accumula to turn our registration papers in,” Cheren pointed out. “Then we need to wait a day or two to get approval as League contenders. That should give you plenty of time to plot something, Hilda.”

“Oh, right!” She took out a potion from the supplies she had packed and used it on her Snivy’s Pokeball. Then she released him. “Then let’s get going! And you, my little reptilian friend, I am going to nickname you Fedora. If that’s okay with you.”

The Snivy, who had inexplicably appeared still wearing the brown hat, smiled and hissed an approval of this name choice.

“And we are going to change the world!” she said, pumping her fist into the air. Then she started off north, quickly followed by her friends, Kyurem, and the other Pokémon. “Just don’t ask me how, as I’m still working on the details.”

“Whatever you wish, Mistress Hilda,” Kyurem said.

Bianca laughed. “Oh dear, she’s going to turn much more ambitious than usual, Cheren, since she’s got a loyal servant boy now. Should we call you Princess Hilda?”

She gave a silly grin. “If you want, especially if that means I get to be a Queen someday and rule the land. Booyah!”

“Whatever you end up doing, I’m sure it will be interesting,” Cheren said dryly. “But really, what do you mean to do on your journey?”

Shrugging, Hilda said, “Have fun, meet lots of Pokémon, see the world, that kind of thing. I want to be involved in interesting things. And even instigate some. What about you two?”

“I’m aiming to become the League Champion,” Cheren said, smiling to himself. “The best of the best; everyone respects the Champions, as they have proven their ability.”

“Oh, you got that right,” Bianca said, nodding. “I’ve heard that the current Champion, Alder, is a wonderful man who treats everyone well. I’d love to meet him. He’s kind of got that weird flaming hair thing going on, though, so I dunno if you could call him cute.”

Hilda smirked. “With that hair, you can only call him hot!” They both laughed, while Cheren rolled his eyes. “What are you planning to do, Bianca?”

“Oh, uh…” she twisted her green beret. “I’m not really sure yet. I think I ought to start out by doing as the Professor asked and meeting a lot of different Pokémon for the Pokedex. But I don’t know which ones I should capture and make my friends. I mean, you probably have your team already plotted out, Cheren.”

“Not entirely,” he said, in a way that suggested he had a plan in mind. “But I do have a few I’m keeping an eye out for. Also, Pokémon tend to be stronger the longer they train with you, so we should all consider building a team based around our starters.” His Tepig squealed in approval.

Then Bianca’s face lit up with an idea. “Yeah, but hey, I just thought of something! We ought to take pictures before we get to Accumula. You know, so we have records of our journey every step of the way.”

“Yes, pictures!” Hilda said, stopping to find her camera. “I can’t believe I forgot about that. We need to get a picture of all three of us starting out.”

“But there isn’t anyone else on the route right now,” Cheren pointed out. “Except Kyurem… uh, would you take some pictures for us?”

“Pardon?” Kyurem asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Take some pictures with our cameras,” Hilda said, pulling out her green one. “You’re in human form, so it’s pretty easy. Hey, I’ll get Bianca and Suzy, and then Cheren and Smoky, and you can watch.”

“If that is what you want,” he said, looking at the device studiously.

Since they could send pictures between their cameras, the friends decided to just use Hilda’s camera. It was a digital, so it really was easy for them. Kyurem wanted to know what all the buttons were for, but since they only needed to set the camera for outdoors photos and hit the shutter button, Hilda told him that she’d show him later. They got Bianca and her Oshawott, then Cheren and his Tepig. After that, Bianca took a picture of Hilda, her Snivy, and Kyurem in his dragon form (although he insisted on using the human form if they were going into town). Then Kyurem got a couple of pictures of Hilda, Bianca, and Cheren without too much trouble.
Then they went back to traveling Route 1 towards Accumula Town.

-+-

Accumula was of a completely different character than Nuvema. The latter was always small, embedded in the countryside, and old-fashioned. On the other hand, Accumula was larger, modern, and upscale. There were three levels to it, and all were paved with beautiful white stones. The houses were grand, the shops were trendy, and the apartments were lavish. This place was for the upper class families who worked in Castelia, but wanted to be out of the dense city. As such, it was glamorous.

To Hilda, Bianca, and Cheren, arriving in Accumula Town always felt like something special. Most days they stayed in Nuvema, working on schoolwork, taking care of the lab when Professor Juniper was out, doing things with each other, and helping their families. It was always the same; they knew every square inch of Nuvema by heart. But Accumula Town, that was a special occasion destination. Like shopping for someone’s birthday, or a holiday trip, or sometimes even heading to the subway for an even more special destination. Great things were certainly ahead when one or all of them came to Accumula.

It was even more exciting this time, though. They had arrived together, but they could be leaving the town separately. As much as they liked each other, this would be their own personal journey to see the region of Unova and they each had different things they were after. They would set their own paths, decide what to do, and make their own discoveries. It was all a little overwhelming, actually.

Because Bianca had put a lot of effort into convincing her parents, at least her Mom, to let her go, she hadn’t really thought of what to do when she got permission. Should she do as Professor Juniper wanted? It seemed only right, since she had given them the opportunity to do this. But then, Juniper had said that they should enjoy themselves, and find out what was really important to them. That didn’t help in her dilemma. She had heard of a marvelous career called a Pokémon Coordinator made up of people who made their Pokémon showy and amazing. But, Unova didn’t have a Contest Hall group, so that was out. Unless she went to another region, and that seemed like such a huge leap that Bianca felt nervous just considering it. At least here, she could always return home.

Cheren had a plan in mind. He had a structure to it too, knowing already how he would take things, what the steps would be, how much time he needed to invest in training. Of course, he had the clear cut goal of becoming Champion. That was focused, as he usually was, and he was already eager to leave Accumula despite how special it was.

On the other hand, Hilda felt ready to jump into anything. She planned things too, but only for the immediate present and adapted when things started to change. She kept confident and did things. Even after living as her neighbor for all her life, the other two weren’t sure how Hilda did it. When they were little, it was usually Hilda who came up with the most fun things to do.

Small goals seemed easier to work with now, like getting official registration in the Pokémon League. On reaching Accumula, the three friends and four Pokémon headed for the large building with the bright neon orange Pokeball sign. The Pokecenters always had the same look so that newcomers could quickly identify them. However, this particular center had toilet paper hanging on its sign and landscaping, while some eggs were on the windows. Probably some immature prank, they thought.

Strangely enough, there weren’t any other visitors to the center at the time. The two Pokemart clerks were over talking with the Nurse, one of the guys sitting on the counter. The table near the entrance was missing a couple of chairs; one, clearly broken, was sitting against a wall. On the floor, several tiles were broken or knocked out of place. Pamphlets and papers were strewn all over. It was a disaster area.

“Whoa, what happened here?” Hilda asked. “Looks like some Pokémon used Whirlwind.”

“Oh, g-good afternoon,” the Nurse said, trying to put her hair back in place. The clerk on the counter hopped off. “Are you Trainers?”

“Yeah, we are,” Bianca said. “Um, was there trouble here?”

Looking relieved, one clerk said, “Yes, there was something of a riot. It started with the building getting egged and TP’ed, but then they came in and tore things up.”

“Who would do that to a Pokecenter?” Cheren asked in disbelief.

“A number of Accumula residents,” the Nurse said. “Look, I’ll heal your Pokémon, and they might be able to get you some supplies, but we’re going to board up this building and leave once our guard arrives. It doesn’t seem safe here anymore.”

On seeing their confused expressions, the other clerk said, “There’s this group called Team Plasma that’s been around the past few months. They’ve got some weird ideas and they’re trying to get people to reject the system of the Pokémon League. A number of people in Accumula are sympathetic to them; they think that because our town doesn’t have a Gym, it’s become unimportant to the majority of Unova.”

“We’ve tried to be a good influence around here,” the Nurse said. “But that dissent has turned the town against us.”

“Oh, but that’s awful,” Bianca said. How could something like that happen? It didn’t make sense. “We just left our hometown of Nuvema today on our journey.”

“Can you still register us in the League database?” Cheren asked.

The Nurse bowed. “Oh sure, that’s still part of my job. Give me your papers along with your starting team and I’ll get it in for review. But you’ll have to check with the Striaton center for your acceptance.”

“Hang on; I’ve got to finish up mine,” Hilda said, searching for her papers and a pen. “Uh, do I put my starter as Kyurem or Snivy?”

“Kyurem?” one of the clerks asked, surprised.

“What is it?” Kyurem asked, causing a double-take as he was in his human form. Then he tapped Hilda when the clerk didn’t say anything more. “If you value truth…”

“All right, you then,” she said, filling out information on her papers.

“That’s new,” the Nurse said, handing Bianca back Suzy’s Pokeball, then taking Cheren’s papers and Smoky’s ball. “But, I don’t think it breaks any of the rules. It might break the rules of the Battle Subway, but they’re a different organization.”

“Is it okay with the Snivy too?” she asked. “I caught him after I got Kyurem.”

“I’ll just not put him into the League database yet,” the Nurse replied. “Make sure it gets done in Striaton, though.”

“Do you three need to buy any supplies before heading out?” one of the clerks asked. “We’ve put up the stationary, but we still have some basic Pokeballs and Potions in easy access.”

Since they had a few Pokeballs each and they would have to leave Accumula because of the Plasma supporters, they decided to just buy some Potions for the trip to Striaton. Once Hilda had her forms finished up, she handed them and her two team members’ Pokeballs for registration. The Nurse glanced over the forms while the healing machine recorded information on her Pokémon and healed them. Then she put the forms in an envelope and put them into an electronic transfer device, which digitalized the item and sent it to the League Headquarters.

“Okay, then all of your forms have been sent out,” the Nurse said, handing Hilda back the two balls. “They could be processed and approved by tonight, or up to a week from now, depending on how busy they are. You can wait around Striaton for that, but you can’t challenge the Gym until you get your Trainer ID cards. At that point, speak to the Pokemart clerks for your starting gifts.” She smiled a bit sadly. “I’d say we hope to see you again, but since we’re closing up, it won’t be here. Have a safe journey.”

On leaving the Pokecenter, they discussed what to do. “If this town is against Trainers for some reason,” Cheren said, “we may want to leave separately. I hear Route 2 has several pathways to it, so that’ll help.”

“But we’re all going to end up in Striaton no matter which way we go on Route 2,” Bianca pointed out. “So then, why not stick together?”

Their conversation was then strangely interrupted by a pair of bugles playing a melody for attention. Nearby, there was a small grassy park with a bench, a couple of trees, a garden of exotic flowers, all on a raised level of ground. There was a large gathering of people at the lower level, some with cameras, all watching a small but sizable group on the elevated grassy area.

And those people were unusual. They were all dressed exactly the same: full body armor covered by white coats, helmets with chainmail neck and shoulder guards, armored boots, and armored gloves. Standing in a perfect straight line, the two buglers were at either end, blowing their brass instruments, standing before two newly polished stands that held banners. The banners had a distinctive symbol of a black and white shield bearing a blue P, with a zigzag through it.

“Oh cool, historical recreationists,” Hilda exclaimed, grinning.

“I hadn’t heard there would be a demonstration,” Cheren said. “Should we go see what’s going on?”

“Sure, sounds fun,” Bianca said.

As they went up to the edge of the crowd, the line of recreationists parted, letting through someone who was dressed differently. He had black boots, a gold monocle, and long wavy green hair, but Hilda only briefly noted them. She was fascinated by his cape. It had a large golden jewel-studded collar, more of a sun-symbolic decorative feature than something battle worthy. That held onto a massive, long, thick, violet cape. It obscured his body so well that one couldn’t tell if he was skinny or fat. Going down so far that the edges brushed the grass, it had to be heavy.

But the man wore it with no signs of weakness. Indeed, he stood there tall, proud, and confident, shielded by his great cape. It had a mysterious design over it too, trimmed in gold embroidery and covered in thick gold lines that swirled and curved all over. Near his chest, there was a stylized eye design that seemed to be watching the crowd. It was mirrored and inverted on each side.

“Good morning, people of Accumula, and to those watching around Unova,” the man said in a gentlemanly voice. Several people in the audience cheered, while the ‘knights’ behind him kept their line. “Thank you for inviting us here to help spread our message and mission. For those of you who are not aware, we are Team Plasma.” He gestured with his right hand towards one banner, spreading his cape. “I am one of the Seven Sages that is most devoted to the cause put forth by our pure and divinely appointed King. I am Ghetsis and today, I am here to bring you word on the cause that we are most driven to fulfill: Pokémon liberation.”

“Huh?” Bianca said, along with others in the crowd.

“He’s kind of full of himself, don’t you think?” Cheren whispered under the cover of the crowd.

But Hilda’s eyes were sparkling. “I want that cape,” she said, just about drooling.

“The cape?” Bianca asked.

“Shh!” someone nearby hissed as Ghetsis began to speak again.

He paced in front of the crowd while speaking. “Yes, liberation. It has been said that for thousands of years, mankind and Pokémon have lived in harmony, helping each other in the spirit of benevolence. But, is this truly how things are?” Ghetsis faced them, speaking in a sterner tone, “Or is it merely a fabrication of us humans, twisting reality into a shape that most benefits us?

“Have any of you here ever spoken to a Pokémon and heard from it precisely what it thinks of us? Some people say that they understand Pokémon without any words, but is this really true? Aren’t we just making up what makes us most comfortable? We have Pokémon build our homes, do chores, and even battle violently for us. We have them watch our children, even when the youths leave home all alone on a journey among strangers. And does anyone ever ask them if they want to do this?

“But even if you do ask, how can you be certain that you are correctly interpreting their reactions? How well do you really know your own Pokémon? Especially if you are one of those who captures Pokémon and keeps them in their Pokeballs at all times, aside from battles.” He swept his arm out, looking angered at this. “Those people are especially terrible and cruel to their Pokémon. Pokémon are meant to be free, not to be held for the whim and amusement of humans. If you care not about your Pokémon, then why do you keep them?

“And even if you do care about them, or even say you love them, why do you keep them? Do you know if they truly love you back? We have worked with Pokémon for thousands of years, it has been said, and yet the scientists say that we still know little about them. Perhaps this is because we’ve been forcing them into servitude, causing them pain and suffering that goes unnoticed. And when we Sages spent much time studying the personal side of Pokémon, under the guidance of our most blessed King, we have discovered the truth.

“And what we know now is that Pokémon are truly suffering. The ones that live in the wild are fearful of Trainers who come in to beat them senseless all for the benefit of their team. A few brave souls will sacrifice themselves to stand up and face against such tyranny, but these ones are most often captured and forced to commit those terrors themselves. Sometimes even against the family that they were protecting before. And then the captive ones are worked endlessly, many of them never even seeing daylight unless they care called out for battle or work that their Trainer is too lazy to do.

“Some of you may try to say that it has always been cooperation and it is that cooperation that has built our society.” Ghetsis swept one arm out, shifting his cape dramatically. “Is that truly necessary? Aren’t we the pitiful and terrible ones who will not do the work ourselves? If we want to truly advance and be strong, then we need to weaken our dependency on Pokémon. We need to liberate them in kindness and then rework our lives in diligence so that such slave labor is not necessary. Then the whole world will be in true balance, peace, and righteousness.

“Heed my words, and if you are wise, then release your Pokémon for their own good, and the good of yourselves. Do not stand for this suffering any longer! We of Team Plasma will demonstrate the authenticity of our ways throughout this year, and we will lift the veils of ignorance from the eyes of all of Unova’s citizens.

“Thank you for your time.” Ghetsis then bowed to a mixture of wild applause, cheering, confusion, and bewilderment from his audience. The two ‘knights’ on the ends of the lines picked up the banner stands. Then, in precision movements, the group of Plasma members split up into two lines, and two extras. Ghetsis walked up so that three of his followers were on either side, while the final two took the forward and rear positions.

“That was odd,” Hilda said, looking down at her Snivy. He clasped his hat in both paws to look back up at her.

“Is it just bad luck, or are forces trying to conspire against our plans?” Cheren asked, looking to the two girls. “And I think that if we were causing the Pokémon to suffer, people would have figured it out by now. What he was saying, that’s just nonsense.”

“That seems so worrisome,” Bianca said, picking up her Oshawott. “I mean, I was happy to get Suzy, so I would hope she’d be happy with me. I hope we’re not making Pokémon suffer.”

“Oshda,” Suzy said, patting her paw on Bianca’s arm, then putting her head down on her chest.

“She seems pretty happy with you,” Hilda said.

“At any rate, we had better leave if that’s how these people think,” Cheren said, lowering his voice as the crowd was dispersing.

“Yeah,” Bianca said, sounding disappointed. Maybe because they had talked about splitting up for this. “Oh, but what do you mean by that man’s cape, Hilda?”

She grinned and leaned forward, clasping her hands to her chest. “It was so awesome, right? It gave him such a mysterious and regal air, and besides, you don’t see anybody dressed like that very often in all seriousness. I want something like that!”

That made Bianca smile again. “Oh, but it looks so heavy. It’d be warm, though, good for winter.”

Joking along with them, Cheren crossed his arms over his chest. “I dunno. It is cool and regal, I’ll agree with that. But the whole ensemble, what with that weird collar and the monocle, it made him look like a villain from a fantasy video game. You don’t want to go around letting people know your intentions of being a villainess, right Hilda?”

She mockingly fumed at him. “Oooo… fine, it does look a bit too villain-type.” Then she laughed. “Hey, does that mean we’ve spotted the uber villain of our story? Then we have our goal: to stop…” she glanced around, “eh, you know, there might still be supporters of them around. If I go yelling that out like usual, they might get mad.”

The other girl laughed. “Score a point of wisdom for Hilda!” she said cheerily. “But it’s a little early to figure out who the uber villain is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, all they’ve done is talk about unsettling ideas and inspire the trashing of a Pokecenter. It’s bad, but not uber-villain-bad.” Cheren dropped his arms then. “Well, I’m going to drop in on another friend here for a bit. I’ll see you girls later.”

“Oh, and I’d better go ahead to Route 2,” Bianca said. “Bye you two.”

After they all said their goodbyes, Bianca headed to the northwest to reach the gate tunnel, while Cheren went to some stairs that led to a lower level of town. Hilda stayed where she was a moment, thinking. Kyurem touched his mask and said, “They are trying to disrupt society.”

“Was he right or wrong, about Pokémon suffering in captivity?” she asked him. He was a Pokémon himself, so he ought to know.

“Perhaps,” he said. “You should find the truth for yourself.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Fine, if you’re going to be difficult about it.” When he narrowed his eyes at her, she smiled. “I’m joking, geez. Are you always serious?”

“Perhaps.”

“I see.” She looked down at Fedora, who was adjusting his namesake hat. Then she knelt by him. “But you know what? Ghetsis might have looked regal in that cape, but he wasn’t wearing a hat. That makes him not awesome enough, because only awesome people wear awesome hats.” She tapped her white and pink hat, which had a patch of a Bisharp on it. “Or masks, in Kyurem’s case.”

At that, Fedora’s eyes brightened and he squealed, hopping up to hug her. His hat bumped against her shoulder and got knocked off to the ground. So she picked it up and put it back on his head.

“Someday, we’re gonna find a way to get that secured,” she told him.

“Wait a minute,” someone said, walking closer to them. “I thought… what did you just say, Snivy?”

Last edited by Ysavvryl; 25th April 2012 at 3:31 AM.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

What are the odds that I check back up and get put on the PM list just 42 minutes before the chapter comes up? Ah well, I just have weird timing. Love the Coffee Break (can you get me some of those donuts?), as well as Kyurem. His character is so...intriguing. Innocent and tranquil, yet mysterious and powerful. Let's just hope he eats someone soon. Maybe Ghetsis. Now for my favorite parts:

“Oh my, are you the third dragon from the story of Unova’s creation?” Juniper asked, sounding excited. “So you know about the time before recorded history?”

“Hmph.” She set the Pokeball back in its holder. “I just realized that I accidentally nicknamed him ‘bowling ball’.”

The other three just stared at her for a moment. Kyurem did not express disappointment, but he did say, “Yes, yes you did nickname me that.”

Bowling Ball the Kyurem. Has a nice ring to it.

“Oh, right!” She took out a potion from the supplies she had packed and used it on her Snivy’s Pokeball. Then she released him. “Then let’s get going! And you, my little reptilian friend, I am going to nickname you Fedora. If that’s okay with you.”

The Snivy, who had inexplicably appeared still wearing the brown hat, smiled and hissed an approval of this name choice.

Well, it's not Perry or Indiana, but I suppose it'll do...*glowering*

“Oh, you got that right,” Bianca said, nodding. “I’ve heard that the current Champion, Alder, is a wonderful man who treats everyone well. I’d love to meet him. He’s got that weird flaming hair thing going on, though, so I dunno if you could call him cute.”

Hilda smirked. “With that hair, you can only call him hot!” They both laughed, while Cheren rolled his eyes.

They say puns are the lowest form of comedy.

“But there isn’t anyone else on the route right now,” Cheren pointed out. “Except Kyurem… uh, would you take some pictures for us?”

“Pardon?” Kyurem asked. “What do you mean by that?”

“Take some pictures with our cameras,” Hilda said, pulling out her green one. “You’re in human form, so it’s pretty easy. Hey, I’ll get Bianca and Suzy, and then Cheren and Smoky, and you can watch.”

“If that is what you want,” he said, looking at the device studiously.

Since they could send pictures between their cameras, the friends decided to just use Hilda’s camera. It was a digital, so it really was easy for them. Kyurem wanted to know what all the buttons were for, but since they only needed to set the camera for outdoors photos and hit the shutter button, Hilda told him that she’d show him later. They got Bianca and her Oshawott, then Cheren and his Tepig. After that, Bianca took a picture of Hilda, her Snivy, and Kyurem in his dragon form (although he insisted on using the human form if they were going into town). Then Kyurem got a couple of pictures of Hilda, Bianca, and Cheren without too much trouble.

For some reason, I absolutely love the image of Kyurem learning how to work a camera. PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER, no knowledge of modern technology.

“Hang on; I’ve got to finish up mine,” Hilda said, searching for her papers and a pen. “Uh, do I put my starter as Kyurem or Snivy?”

“Kyurem?” one of the clerks asked, surprised.

“What is it?” Kyurem asked, causing a double-take as he was in his human form. Then he tapped Hilda when the clerk didn’t say anything more. “If you value truth…”

“All right, you then,” she said, filling out information on her papers.

“That’s new,” the Nurse said, handing Bianca back Suzy’s Pokeball, then taking Cheren’s papers and Smoky’s ball. “But I don’t think it breaks any of the rules. It might break the rules of the Battle Subway, but they’re a different organization.”

Huh, the clerk got over that one fast. Then again, when the evil plot of Team Plasma was to manipulate the citizens to egg and T-P the Pokemon Center, I wouldn't be too surprised either.

“Huh?” Bianca said, along with others in the crowd.

“He’s kind of over-dramatic, don’t you think?” Cheren whispered under the cover of the crowd.

But Hilda’s eyes were sparkling. “I want that cape,” she said, just about drooling.

You're not the only one, Hilda. *drools*

“That seems so worrisome,” Bianca said, picking up her Oshawott. “I mean, I was happy to get Suzy, so I would hope she’d be happy with me. I hope we’re not making Pokémon suffer.”

“Oshda,” Suzy said, patting her paw on Bianca’s arm, then putting her head down on her chest.

“She seems pretty happy with you,” Hilda said.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Joking along with them, Cheren crossed his arms over his chest. “I dunno. It is cool and regal, I’ll agree with that. But the whole ensemble, what with that weird collar and the monocle, it made him look like a villain from a fantasy video game. You don’t want to go around letting people know your intentions of being a villainess, right Hilda?”

She mockingly fumed at him. “Oooo… fine, it does look too villain-type.” Then she laughed. “Hey, does that mean we’ve spotted the uber villain of our story? Then we have our goal: to stop…” she glanced around, “eh, you know, there might still be supporters of them around. If I go yelling that out like usual, they might get mad.”

The other girl laughed. “Score a point of wisdom for Hilda!” she said cheerily. “But it’s a little early to figure out who the uber villain is, isn’t it?”

OH NO THE UBER-VILLAIN IS SPOILED

Unless it isn't Ghetsis, which is something I could see you pulling off yet...

“I see.” She looked down at Fedora, who was adjusting his namesake hat. Then she knelt by him. “But you know what? Ghetsis might have looked regal in that cape, but he wasn’t wearing a hat. That makes him not awesome enough, because only awesome people wear awesome hats.” She tapped her white and pink hat, which had a patch of a Bisharp on it. “Or masks, in Kyurem’s case.”

Agreed. Capes are amazing, monocles are fully awesome, but it all is naught without the super-epic top hat to go with it.

“Wait a minute,” someone said, walking closer to them. “I thought… what did you just say, Snivy?”

OMIGOSH ITS N THIS STORY JUST GOT OVER NINE THOUSAND TIMES MORE EPIC I HEART N LOLOLOLOL

Had to get that in before the next twenty readers did.

Overall, just as good as the first chapter. KEEP 'EM COMIN', YSA!!!

Oh, and I wonder who you could possibly be referring to in your sig...

Can I just be a critic? Do i not need to be on the PM list?
Anyways, Love the chapter. Adored the coffee break. and great story, overall. I came and read this after reading PMD: Loopholes. Fav character: Mew. Anyways i like kyurems personality, and i think that what will happen would be is that a trainer will challenge kyurem to a battle, seeing as he looks like a human. Kyurem will say ok. turns into kyurem. little boy gets the crap beat out of him and runs of squealing like a little baby.
Note to self: If i meet someone whose name is hilda. do not invite to coffee break.
Another note to self: change my sig so i can get in mew's "I died!? What kind of cruel person sets up my death!" Someone who no longer exists" Quote in. LOL. Well make more and will this be periodically, or random?

"If we are unwilling to see the dark, we cannot see the light." -John Cowan

I agree! Giant fighting Pokedexes will alway be awesome!
Anyone want to second this?

“I should point out that I still think it’s a bad idea to combine Hilda, coffee, and frosted donuts in one scene,” he said

.
Can I have some of the donuts?

Bianca nodded. “Oh sure. On another note, I think the ridiculousness of it is relative.”

Yep. relative to the Adventure of Adventureness, this is positively sane.

“Of the readers or of the point of view character?” Hilda asked. “Cause I peeked at some of the notes for N and it was freaky! I thought he was the one who had been made under the Purity Sue trope. It makes me wonder why she was giggling about Hilbert.”

*pulls out inflatable courtroom, and accuses Ysa of bieng a troper*

“and that didn’t work. So the Mary Sue powers got split up and you ended up with the ultra-special starter of a man-eating legend.”

I hope we see some of the man-eating part of this soon!

“I still get shiny Pokemon though!” she said happily, twirling around. “We should have coffee breaks before every chapter!”

Definatly.

For the rest of the chapter, it's all good. I am now going to go and rename my Kyurem "Bowling Ball" n honour of this.

Bwahaha, again I am loving this. And I'm sure it was as enjoyable to write as it was to read. Sometimes I think we all need a break from the big name epics to settle down with a light, fun read.

Kyurem is amazingly awesome, and I found it interesting that he was the one who appeared in her dream. And I love the dialogue and just overall interactions of the main characters. Ghetsis's speech was nicely expanded on from the games, and I particularly liked Kyurem's response to it. (Okay Kyurem in general is just <3)

I'll be sad to see the mains split up for their journey, even though I'm sure they'll meet up a lot.

AND THE CHAPTER ENDED WITH N YES.

Looking forward to the next chappie!

~Chibi~

"Everyone wishes they could catch a Legendary, deep down, whether they’ll admit it or not.
If you knew you could use one to change the world, something you’d been dreaming about for years, are you telling me you wouldn’t take that chance?"----------------------------------------------------------------------July 15 Update: CHAPTER 25: “The Heart of a Rocket” POSTED!!!
Chapter 26 progress: 11/13 pages

Just a note, this fic is rated T/PG-13 on FF.net. Although so far, it's just Fedora's dialogue that earns that rating... other stuff comes up later.

Coffee Break

"Why does it have to be a coffee break?" N asked "Coffee is a strong drink, and it's addictive even if people deny it. And it can be detrimental to one's health. That's why I have green tea instead; not as much caffeine to cause trouble and far more benefits."

In the other chair, Ghetsis shrugged. "It's a cultural phenomenon that suggests a casual conversation. That's probably why she named these segments that."

"Using the term encourages the continued use of such substances," N replied. "And I think reader response sections encourage inane posts, but if that's what she wants..."

"It's part of the contract; if we get breaks, we have to do this."

"Very well." N sipped at his green tea, then leaned back in his chair. "I'm not too happy with the ridiculous suggestions. I would have preferred a nice drama to take part in. Comedy is just making light of the problem and rarely does anything to solve it. Except maybe embarrass some people. And yes, puns are the lowest form of comedy. Our author is a little too fond of them, though."

"Though I would like to see how someone intends to defeat me with a living bowling ball, just for the sheer audacity of the suggestion," Ghetsis said with a smirk. "But I'm not wearing a hat even if it gets that in."

"What's wrong with hats?" N asked.

"I hate hat hair. Anyhow, do you need to go get ready? This is your first POV chapter."

"I suppose I should go prepare myself." He got up, taking the mug of green tea with him. "Comedy... how did I get roped into this?"

Ghetsis waited for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Get me some coffee; make it black."

Chapter 3: Morning Departure

morning, 11/11

The trees were full of color: orange, red, yellow, violet, even some lingering green. The breeze and the sunbeams mixed to create a relaxing morning. Nearby, a stream passed over its pebbly bed, adding its soft addition to nature’s melody. It would have been a great day to spend outside, enjoying the landscape before all the leaves fell, but this wasn’t the day for it. There wouldn’t be any more days like that, not for some time. Today, he was leaving.

He sat against a stump to be closer to the smaller Pokémon. “It’s something I have to do,” he said, patting the Lillipup that had settled on his lap. He had to be careful not to touch the burn scars, which would hurt the Pokémon. “I love helping you all, I really do. It’s just, in order to truly solve the problem, one has to fix the source, not the results. I want to help all Pokémon and for that…” his hand tensed, causing the puppy Pokémon to look up at him, “I, I have to become one of the Trainers, so that they’ll listen to me.”

“Won’t that make you as bad as them?” the Lillipup asked.

A Deerling by him bumped his head gently. “Don’t do it, N. The Trainers are scary people. I don’t want you to be scary.”

“But I know the flaws in their system,” N said. “I won’t be one of the scary ones. I refuse to be. I am right in my beliefs, and that will show in how I relate to my team and wild Pokémon. I will be an example for all the others to follow, at least until the time to free all Pokémon comes. And even then, I’ll be one of the first to free any Pokémon that I take with me.”

He felt a pair of furry paws rest on his head. “Are you going to take some of us with you?” the Zoroark asked. He was the only one of his kin in this area, and he was a lot more eager to battle than the others of this forest.

N glanced back, but didn’t shift his position too much. “No, not at first. I don’t want to hold onto any of the Pokémon in my team very long, so that they aren’t restrained by the Pokeballs for weeks.”

“I see,” the Zoroark said, disappointed. “That’s too bad.”

Smiling, he patted the dark Pokémon’s paw. “Don’t worry. By the time I make it to the last couple of Gyms, I’ve figured that that strategy won’t work out anymore. So I’ll come back and see if any of you want to help in the final stages. You’re definitely coming along, right?”

The Zoroark finally came into his view, swishing his tail against N’s back in approval. “Certainly. I promise.”

“That’s fine,” he said. “I won’t make any of you do something you don’t want. I will miss all of you.”

“We’ll miss you too, N!” the Lillipup said, along with agreement from many others. The puppy even got up to lick his face.

“You should’ve been a Pokémon too,” the Deerling said when things quieted. “Because then you wouldn’t have to leave us.”

N glanced down the path and spotted two women coming their way. They were still some distance off. “Sometimes I wish I had been one too,” he told his friends. “But then I wouldn’t be able to help you like this. I think it was meant to be this way, but in order to fulfill my destiny, I need to walk a long and hard path.”

The Pokémon had seen the women too and the shy ones were already going back into hiding. “Be careful,” the Deerling said, before dashing off to join them.

“Pokémon love you so quick, you should be okay,” the Lillipup said, getting off his lap. “Good luck!”

The last Pokémon in the glade with him was the Zoroark. He padded around on all fours before sitting down in front of N. “Kid, you have bright eyes and a pure heart,” he said. He glanced back at the women before looking back to him. “That can take you far, but beware.”

Nodding, N replied, “I know there’s a lot of a danger to a journey; I’ve read about them…”

“Not about that,” he said, flicking his long tail. “You have learned how cruel humans can be, but your kind can also be manipulative.” The Zoroark puffed up his chest at this. “My kind is also manipulative. But in the years since I came here as a Zorua, and in all the kindness and love you showed me no matter what happened, I feel now that you deserve my honesty. So here it is: think for yourself.”

“Think for myself?” he asked, puzzled. “But I have been all along. I brought together the Sages, and Team Plasma, and then established myself as worthy of being King, all because I want to fix things.”

Strangely, the Zoroark seemed disappointed, lowering his head and touching his snout with his paw. “Then do that, and examine your thoughts and ideals more closely. Watch how people react and consider what may happen. Watch how they are. It’s not that I don’t believe in you, N. It’s that the worst dangers are the ones that you do not expect. Disasters do not happen suddenly; they happen when you don’t leave the path to them.”

“What do you mean by that?” N put his hand on a Rubik’s Cube that he had attached to a belt clip. It was something precious to him.

But the Zoroark got up and started away. “If I tell you everything, your mind will grow soft. Find the way of mysteries for yourself.” Then he leapt into the trees, following the others.

Examine his thoughts and ideals… N wasn’t sure of that, as he had thought and discussed those ideals extensively for the past four years. He wanted to make sure that they would be understood clearly; it was something he had trouble with at first, because no one else in Team Plasma could understand Pokémon like he did. In that, his Sages had helped immensely. With them backing his words, he felt that he could readily attain his goal.

And to watch the others around him, that disasters happen when you don’t leave the path to them. That sounded like a good idea. He had learned that people outside of Plasma told themselves many lies in order to let the enslavement and mistreatment of Pokémon continue. By watching and listening to them, he could find the lies and expose them. He could also figure out the best way to present his ideals to the world so that they would be accepted, no, embraced.

“N!” The blond woman waved to him. “It’s almost time for you to go!”

“I’ll be right there,” he called back, getting up and brushing the dirt off his jeans. He also ran his hand through his ponytail, catching a few bits of wood from the stump. Then he went over to them.

The two of them wore simple dresses; they always wore dresses and were the only people N knew of who wore them at all. That wasn’t the only reason they were different from the rest, and from him. When a Pokémon came to this forest that was injured, Anthea would know how to heal it. She was gentle about it too, although N often had to help her calm the Pokémon down. And Concordia usually wasn’t out here, as she directed the servants of the castle. She was a strong woman, but knew how to soften her words so that she didn’t seem bossy. And together, they were the two servants who answered personally to him. They were his teachers and caretakers.

“I was just saying goodbye to the Pokémon here,” he told them. “Some were nervous and didn’t want me to go, but others wished me luck.”

Concordia smiled. “We thought you’d be out doing that. But you don’t want to delay the others. They’ve got a scheduled appearance in Accumula later this morning.” They paused for him, then walked back the way they came.

He nodded. “I know.”

“I’ll keep watch over your friends here while you’re gone,” Anthea said. “And here, this is a Fly HM.” She handed him a disc-like device in a plastic case. “You can teach it to a Pokémon with wings so you can return here if you want.”

He looked at the device, not liking the sound of it. “I wouldn’t want to use it on most; they’d be too small to ride.”

“Oh no, it doesn’t quite work like that,” she said, sounding amused. “It’s… well, you’d have to see it for yourself. Regular flying, yes, the majority of Flying types couldn’t help you. This version of Fly, a small Pokémon could handle transporting a human easy and quick.”

“And it gives the Pokémon you teach it to an advantage in the wild when you let it go,” Concordia added. “And there’s no harm done; it’s safe. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have kept it.”

“I’ll trust you on that,” N said, putting the case into his bag.

“We’ll miss having you around,” Anthea said, rubbing a tear out of her eye. “You’ve always been a wonder as a child, and now you’re all grown up, ready to make a change in the world. We’re so proud of you.”

On some level, N knew that they were complimenting him. Yet, he’d heard those words time and time again: a child wonder, a prodigy, the one who will change the world, so proud of you. Those words, sometimes he had to remind himself that they did have meanings and that they were good. At least, from most humans.

N listened to them chatter while walking with them, talking some on his own. But it seemed like they were discussing nothing. Just amusing anecdotes, or sweet memories from the past. Inside, he was thinking again that he should have been a Pokémon. He was far more comfortable talking with them than other humans. Around his own kind, he felt like he was missing something, but couldn’t identify it. He tried so often to analyze and solve the problem, but the answers he came up with never made sense. Those all had to be false results… he was missing something.

They came upon a large helicopter sitting on open ground. Members of Team Plasma had gathered, talking to each other and getting on board. Just in time. He looked over to the two women. “Goodbye, Athena, Concordia. I might visit if there’s time to spare. I trust you to take care of things.”

“Of course, N dear,” Concordia said, coming closer to him and putting her hand on his shoulder.

Feeling uncomfortable, N stepped towards the helicopter. She noticed and briefly looked disappointed in him. That embarrassed him, so he quickly said, “I’d better go; don’t want to hold them up.” He walked quickly to the helicopter, facing the ground and hoping that he wasn’t blushing.

But as soon as he escaped that one potential hug, one of the last soldiers of the group saw him and tried to get a handshake. “Lord N, you are coming with us! It’s amazing to meet you in person; I’ve been fascinated by your philosophy ever since I first read about you and it’s changed my life…”

“Leave him be,” Ghetsis said from inside, thankfully breaking up that awkward moment for N. “Our Lord has a major task ahead of him and he needs to focus his mind on that.”

N nodded. “Yes, I have a lot to do in the near future. But I’m glad that I was able to open your mind to the ideal ways of life.” He then stepped up into the helicopter.

It was… crowded, much to his distaste. There were eight Plasma members in full uniform, as well as Ghetsis who was dressed formally in his cape and collar. There were also two members who were in plain clothes like himself, carrying travel bags and quietly talking to each other. In front, there was the pilot, co-pilot, and a strange man in shadowy clothing and thick hair, to the point where nothing could be told about his (or possibly even her) identity. That last was one of the Shadow Triad, and if one was here, the other two might be on board as well. Just not as obviously.

As he was the last to get on, Ghetsis gestured him to sit on the bench beside him. Normally, that was fine. N and the leader of the Sages knew each other best, and Ghetsis was more aware of N’s quirks. But he was sitting on the edge of a bench in the front row. And directly next to that empty spot, there was another bench with the two plains clothes members. They were two females that he did not know.

The helicopter door began to shut, so N went to the spot by Ghetsis while the vehicle started up. Okay, the helicopter was a fast way to reach their destination, even if he did not like it. He had flown a few times in such things before and it always unsettled his nerves. The crowd of humans made it that much worse… and the smell. There was something that smelled stale, bitter, and fermented nearby. Smelling it made him want to get as far away from that scent as he could. Looking at where it came from, it seemed to be from the two women by him.

“Most young people who go on a Pokémon journey will take a friend or two along,” Ghetsis spoke up. “They don’t always stick together, but they tend to keep pace with each other. I’m sending these two out with you to help you fit in better. This is Valerie, and this is Carol.”

“Hi N,” Valerie said cheerily. She had a perky smile and fidgeted in her seat. “You can call me Val. We can help you with figuring out what to do out there, because the rest of Unova works differently than the castle. But you’re super smart, so it shouldn’t be that hard for you to catch on.”

Carol nodded somberly, flicking back her short hair. “It’s a lot more corrupt out there,” she said.

“They’re also a pair of our best trained martial arts fighters outside of the Triad,” Ghetsis said. “They’ll be working as your bodyguards in situations that could require such. Now we don’t want you three to be associated with Team Plasma in the public’s eye, at first. We’ll wait until we have all the pieces set up so that no meddling Trainers try interfering with your destiny. Until then, you’ll be met with in secret, or one of these two will contact us on your behalf.”

Normally, N liked talking, as that solved problems. But this situation had him tense, so he just said, “If that’s what would work best.”

“This is the beginning of the biggest stage of your plans,” he said. “You need to be strong now, and stay strong. Your faith in your ideals will be the foundation for everything you need: courage to carry on in face of adversity, wisdom to avoid mistakes, charisma to inspire those who are blind, everything. You’ve gotten this far and there is no reason you should fail now. So you don’t need to worry, even though we’re all depending on you. I have faith in you.”

N nodded. It was a great burden that he carried in being the King, but Team Plasma needed him to succeed. All of the Pokémon in the world needed him to succeed, so that they never had to fear humans again. And, along with that, the humans of the world would all be enlightened if… no, when he succeeded here. He would change everything for the better and he knew that he could do it.

But also, Ghetsis was counting on him. N had heard his story many times, about how he had been living a comfortable life of wealth and luxury but had given it all up on the words of a small boy who claimed that he could understand Pokémon. Most people in the world would have thought it make-believe and told him to grow up and pass those fantasies by. But Ghetsis believed, and he was so moved and inspired by the child’s wishes for a better world that he gave up all that he could to see to it that the better world came to pass. N may have been a child wonder, an extraordinary person, but without the support and wisdom of Ghetsis, he would have been called a liar instead, possibly insane.

Although he knew all of this was greater than just two people, N felt, but never told, that he needed to succeed for Ghetsis’ sake, so that his faith and sacrifice was validated.

-+-

After landing northwest of Accumula, Ghetsis gathered his crew to discuss the plan for this appearance one last time. N, Val, and Carol headed out to Route 2. “Striaton is to the north, so we should be headed that way,” Carol said.

“I can’t take on the Gym yet,” N said. “I have to find some Pokémon to help me. And just what are you two wearing?”

“Err, regular clothes?” Val replied, still smiling. “We had to fit in too.”

He shook his head. “I know, but that’s not what I mean. One or both of you has some perfume or scent on you, and it’s atrocious. I’m sorry if that’s rude to point out, but it’s awfully distracting.”

“It’s very popular in Kanto,” she said. “It’s called Veiled Mystique.”

Carol nodded. “We both love it; it’s such an exotic light perfume.”

“So a light perfume is one that doesn’t choke others?” N asked.

The two girls laughed. “I suppose that could be said,” Val joked.

“What’s so funny about that?” N was never sure what to do about people who thought they were funny. Sure, sometimes really clever wordplay or twist of concept could be funny, but it got in the way of intelligent conversation.

They looked at each other, then Val said, “I guess you are right about needing Pokémon first. We’d better spread out for that, so we’re not all encountering the same ones. Here, my Lo…”

“Val,” Carol said warningly.

She giggled. “Oh right, here N.” She gave him a device that looked like a black watch with a large screen. “Sounds so odd after all this time. Anyhow, this is an Xtransceiver, so we can call each other if something happens. I’ve got our numbers loaded in the address book, so that’s easy.”

“That’s good,” he said, putting the Xtransceiver on. “I hope you two are well-prepared for this. Good luck on your searches.”

Carol just nodded and headed off towards a grassy meadow. Val waved and said, “Good luck, and be careful!” before running off north

Good, they were gone. N headed east. He wasn’t sure why Ghetsis had thought to add them in at this stage. Really, he was perfectly fine with doing this alone and the rational that most teens traveled in groups was weak. Even if he were to travel with someone, he’d want it to be someone he knew and trusted, like Anthea and Concordia, not two random soldiers like Val and Carol. But his caretakers had work to do back at the castle and any other humans he knew were also busy.

He wasn’t planning on finding Pokémon first, though. He knew strategically what he should be looking for in his starting Pokémon, and that was readily available on Route 2. No, he wanted to go see Ghetsis’ speech. N knew he didn’t have to, and it would likely be like others he’d heard. But maybe the Sage was saying something different to them. To blend in, he wanted to know what was being said.

But then… he ran his hand through his hair, thinking. Even in ordinary attire, he was easily recognizable due to his long light green hair. Ghetsis would know that he was in the crowd, and he might not appreciate the delay. Maybe he should buy a hat while waiting on the Plasma group to get to Accumula.

There was one problem with that: N had never been in a store himself. Maybe he should have brought one of the girls along. No, it shouldn’t be that complicated. He had read about businesses, bargaining, and trade before, so he could handle it. He went to Accumula.

It wasn’t until he was a short distance from the tunnel that he realized something wasn’t quite right here. N looked and listened, noticing the quiet. Although the grass looked appropriate, he had not run into any Pokémon on his walk.

Why was that? The Pokémon of the forest would usually come right to him. Even the new ones. Maybe it was because no Pokémon around here knew of him. N felt spooked by the quiet, but it was soon broken by a quick rustling of leaves and running paws. After a few seconds, a violet feline Pokémon burst onto the path. Her fur was puffed out, which only made a certain patch around an old scar stand out all the more. The Purrloin saw him and froze, trying to decide what to do.

“What’s frightened you, Purrloin?” N asked, making sure his hands were visible and that he didn’t appear threatening. “I’m not going to trouble you.”

She stayed tense. “It doesn’t matter if I say what; you’re human.”

“It does matter,” he said. She tensed up even more. “I understand you.”

Starting to calm down, she glanced back into the trees, then said, “I don’t like people with knives.” Then she sat down and licked her paw to settle her fur down.

N went to sit by her. “Why did you get attacked with a knife?”

“How should I know?” she replied, then put her paw down. “I had a Trainer for a while, but she kept losing at the Gyms and blaming us. She was unreasonable all the time; I like to be out for stuff other than battles.”

“So she struck you because she kept losing?”

The Purrloin flicked her tail. “No. Her loser boyfriend made that scar. She was a loser, but he was worse. Hmph. I just wanted to win one of those Gyms, to show that I wasn’t worthless. But… it didn’t happen. I got released and was threatened with a knife to scat.”

For a few minutes, N let the Purrloin talk about her life. Then he told her of what he meant to do. “I know I want to make sure all Pokémon can be free,” he finished up with. “But I think that in order to get respect, I’d best earn badges myself. There is something else I could do, but I want to try the badges first. Would you help me win the Gym in the next town over? I wouldn’t keep you longer than that, but you would win one.”

She had been attending to her grooming while he spoke, but N could feel that she was listening. The Purrloin took a moment to finish off her cleaning, then looked to him. “You’re different, you know. Not just in understanding me, but you’re not like the other humans in other ways… I can tell that about you already. Just one Gym, huh?”

He nodded. “Just one.”

Flexing one paw to investigate her claws, she replied, “I don’t need any more proof than that. Okay then, N, I’ll help you. But, will you nickname me?”

“Nickname you? I hadn’t thought of that.”

She got up and stretched. “Oh, but a nickname is so special. It gives you a distinct identity among your kin, and it always reminds you of the person who gave it to you. And it means that a human saw you as a person too, instead of a tool to use for their own purposes. Sometimes it means that they will always be your friend…” the Purrloin sounded sad at the end, but didn’t stay open about it long.

N scratched her head, making her purr. “I see. Well if it is seen that way to Pokémon, then I’d be happy to give you one. But give me a moment to think on it.” He pulled out a Pokeball and activated it to capture her. The Purrloin didn’t resist. Once the capture was secure, he released her. “Could I call you Pricilla?”

“Do you like it?” the Purrloin asked.

He nodded. “That’s why I suggested it, but I want to make sure you like it too.”

“If you like it, then I like it.” The newly named Pricilla stood up and curled her tail. “So, what do we do now, N?”

Getting up off the ground, he said, “There’s a few things that I want to do in Accumula first, but then we’ll head to Striaton where the Gym is. We’ll need to start training too… you’re the first Pokémon that I’ve captured, actually.”

“Am I? That makes me very special then.” Pricilla seemed pleased.

For the next half hour, N looked around Accumula Town with Pricilla following him. There were many small stores and brick apartment buildings. There was a little park that had short grass and only a handful of trees. But, the thing that struck N was that things were not as grand as he was used to. Sure, he knew castles were normally grand, and he’d only ever seen two buildings in his life. But things were at such a small scale here. Some of the one-story structures could have fit inside the major rooms of the castle.

The time was quickly approaching, so N entered one clothing store. It didn’t take long for someone to say, “Lord N? What are you doing here?”

He looked to the counter to see a large middle-aged man in a dark blue polo shirt and tan pants. “Hmm, have I met you before?”

Shaking his head, the clerk said, “No, not in person. I’ve seen you before, at the coronation. I’m one of the financial backers. But I’m honored that you would come by here.” He glanced down, seeing Pricilla looking around. “Erm, but please keep an eye on that Purrloin; I don’t want it stealing merchandise.”

“Alright,” he looked down to her, “behave yourself in here, please.”

“Oh fine,” she said, sitting down to clean her paws again.

Then N came up to the counter. “Actually, I wanted to buy a hat so that I wasn’t so obvious out here. I’ve tried, but if you recognize me, then it’s not working as it should.”

“I could get you one for nothing, it’d be no trouble.”

He waved a hand and shook his head. “No, I’ll buy it. I’ll need to do that in every other town.”

“Right. Well our hats are over in that corner, so see what you like.”

N nodded and went over to look, after making sure that Pricilla was going to follow him. There weren’t many hats over there: cloth bucket hats, straw wide-brimmed hats, and baseball caps, that was it. And they were only in a few colors. Still, what should he choose? He wished he had more information on the subject of hats. He should have something innocuous, something that would blend in. But he didn’t know what would fit that.

In that case, it was down to what he liked.

He was considering the bucket hats when one of the caps caught his eye. It was black with a dark gray bill, but what interested him was the yin-yang patch on the front. Instead of just being a symbol, this one was a stylized depiction of Zekrom and Reshiram, one of a red eye, the other of a blue eye. N put down the tan bucket and went to check out this black hat further. It was on a display advertising ‘Patch Hats’ and, in a plastic bag inside the cap, there was a duplicate of the dragon patch. Perhaps it was in case of damage.

When he had been learning from the Sages, he heard of many tales of the legendary Pokémon. But his favorites were always those of Zekrom and Reshiram, in particular the former. If he knew how to reawaken those legends, N would be greatly tempted to do so. If he had the authority of even just one of them behind his ideals, then the people of Unova, and even the world, would have to listen. But it should work without them. He and Team Plasma were bringing wisdom to the people, wisdom that they could not afford to ignore.

His thoughts were interrupted when his Purrloin said, “Oh, now that looks so warm and snuggly. I want to nap in that coat.”

He looked over to see the violet feline looking up at a thick brown coat with fur trim. “I would rather you not do that,” he told her. “The shopkeeper wouldn’t be happy with us.”

“Pfft. Didn’t you hear how he was talking to you?” She walked over to his side. “He would have given you the hat for free. He’d go out of his way to please you. Do people treat you like that often?”

N thought about that. “I don’t know,” he told her. “I spent more time with Pokémon than humans all my life.”

“I’d take advantage of that kind of generosity,” she said. “I hardly ever get that kind of treatment.”

“It wouldn’t be right,” N said. He looked at the black hat again and decided to buy it. The storekeeper tried to keep sales tax off the receipt, but N insisted it be done legally. He was then offered a discount because of who he was. At that, Pricilla teased him for insisting on paying more than he needed to, for which N finally agreed and paid the reduced cost.

After placing the extra patch in his bag and clipping off the tags, N put the cap on, securing the back strap under his ponytail. It might not be much, but it could be just enough. He walked outside in time to see the Plasma group setting the stage. Already, people were gathering to watch. N slipped into the crowd; he was naturally tall, but he saw a few other men who were even taller than him.

“Ugh, I don’t like these crowds,” Pricilla said. “Somebody’s gonna step on my paws or tail, I know it.”

“I can recall you if that’s better,” N offered. She agreed to it, so he took her Pokeball and pressed the recall button. “I don’t like crowds either.”

While waiting on the speech to begin, N listened to the people around him. Some people had heard Plasma’s words before, but many had not. And some were even gossiping about unimportant things, like this was any other gathering. He encountered that with Pokémon sometimes, when one of them wanted to relate an important story and others were interested in discussing where ripe berries were. Well this crowd was about to hear something that could change their lives.

Then the bugles sounded, quieting the crowd. Ghetsis came forward with his usual theatrics, introducing himself and Team Plasma to those who hadn’t yet heard of their sacred mission. He went into one of his usual speeches meant to break people out of their established beliefs. At a few points, he even mentioned N, although not by name.

Although he’d heard these words many times before, N stayed around and listened. Ghetsis had a way of talking that N found fascinating. The people around him felt the same way, paying the Sage full attention. At times like these, when he knew what was being said, N liked to watch Ghetsis and try to figure out how he commanded people, how he projected a powerful presence. It was regal, appropriate for a king, and so as Plasma’s King, he had to figure out how to do the same.

After the speech was over, Ghetsis and the Plasma knights headed back to the helicopter. None of them showed any signs of noticing N in the crowd. N listened to the dispersing people. “What was that about?” “Isn’t he a great speaker?” “I don’t wanna hurt my Pokémon, but I’ll be sad if she goes.” “What on earth are those jokers going on about?” “This is the truth! It’ll be all over the world in time, so you have to join now!”

N stayed there, clenching his fist. Some were listening, but others were still uncertain. Why was that? It was plain and simple once you thought about it; even the word ‘capture’ hinted at Pokémon enslavement. But… maybe it would just take time. They needed to think it over, and then, they would certainly do the right thing. Unless other humans really were more corrupt than he thought, and force would be necessary.

Well, he wasn’t going to advance on his goal if he stayed around here. He looked around the plaza one more time. It was mostly empty now, save for a small group on the other side. There was a guy in a strange mask, a girl in a baseball cap, and a Snivy with a fedora a few sizes too big. “Ridiculous,” N mumbled, then started to go.

But then the Snivy squealed in glee, forcing N to pay attention to the trio again. “OH MY GOD WOMAN, you are now my favoritest person ever! My hat and I are your loyal friends for-evah!” Then he hugged the crouching girl, excited enough that he knocked his hat off.

“What?” N felt bewildered. Some of his Pokémon friends in the forest said that they liked him, but none had ever said anything like that, in such excitement. And she was the one who must have given him that awful hat. How could he be declaring his eternal loyalty to that girl? Unless he was missing something here. Unable to let it go at that, he went over to the trio. “Wait a minute, I thought… what did you just say, Snivy?”

Last edited by Ysavvryl; 25th April 2012 at 3:32 AM.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

I really like the portrayal of N so far. Genuine, kind, and perhaps a touch naive, due to how sheltered he's always been. I'm sort of getting an Asperger's type vibe from him, though perhaps that's just me having it myself. But he's an interesting character so far, can't wait to see how he's developed. And if you're going for "Priscilla" for the Purrloin, you're missing the s.

Originally Posted by scytherdude30
no no no you need an empoleon as your powerhouse da listen to me man I AM THE BOMB

Originally Posted by Zincspider

Yes, someone is getting 'killed'... HOORAY FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!....